Cape Town

The Democratic Alliance would continue to stand as an independent party even if the ruling African National Congress split, says leader Tony Leon. In his regular internet column on Friday, he said the DA would fight to ensure that any new government reversed the current government’s ”denialist approach to HIV/Aids”, among other things.

In his regular internet column on Friday, ANC Today, President Thabo Mbeki said his statements dealing with the Jacob Zuma affair can ”by no stretch of imagination” be interpreted as expressing ”a hostile or malicious attitude” to the former deputy president.

Jilted motor mechanic Alan Gietzmann was on Thursday jailed for life for the premeditated murder of his teenaged girlfriend, Caryn Lindesay. In addition, he was jailed for 22 years on five counts of inciting five different vagrant men to rape and murder Lindesay.

Parliament’s chief finance officer Harry Charleton has been suspended with immediate effect pending an inquiry.Charleton was suspended by Secretary to Parliament Zingile Dingani last Friday ”due to serious allegations that have been levelled against him”, Parliament’s chief operating officer Tango Lamani confirmed on Thursday.

Parties by government departments following the successful passage of their Budget votes through Parliament have cost South African taxpayers almost R1,7-million, says the Democratic Alliance. The most expensive celebration — R489 681-worth of partying — was held by the Department of Public Service and Administration.

The conflict in the African National Congress is not between a populist camp and a technocratic and aloof elite, according to United Democratic Movement president Bantu Holomisa. ”This is hogwash,” Holomisa writes in a discussion document being circulated to party structures ahead of the party’s national congress next month.

Cape Town motor mechanic Alan Gietzmann was on Tuesday found guilty of the premeditated murder of his teenaged girlfriend Caryn Lindesay. He was also convicted on five counts of incitement to rape or murder her. Cape High Court Judge Denis van Reenen said Gietzmann faces a ”very, very severe” penalty.

At least nine of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa) top 28 officials earn considerably more than President Thabo Mbeki does — including his car allowance. At least 19 of the 28 earn more than Mbeki, excluding the allowance, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor has revealed in Parliament.

Vitamin entrepreneur Dr Matthias Rath has added Health-e news service to the long list of individuals and organisations he is suing for defamation with a R1,6-million claim. Health-e recently carried a series of investigative articles on Rath’s activities in Cape Town’s black townships.

In an attempt to smooth ruffled feathers, South Africa’s churches came out in support of fast-food company Nando’s on Monday after it denied any involvement in an allegedly distasteful advertisement depicting Christ’s Last Supper. Nando’s was recently the target of an SMS and e-mail campaign opposing the advertisement.

The opposition Democratic Alliance party has urged the government not to use Zimbabwean flying instructors to train South African Air Force (SAAF) pilots. DA defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah questioned if Zimbabwean Air Force instructors have sufficient knowledge of, or experience with, SAAF aircraft.

The threat of an al-Qaeda bioterrorism attack was a ”clear and present danger of the highest order”, secretary general of international policing organisation Interpol Ronald Noble said on Monday. He was speaking in Cape Town at the opening of an Interpol-organised workshop for African police departments on bioterrorism — an attack using biological weapons such as anthrax, smallpox or plague.

Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon has accused President Thabo Mbeki of being a ”past master” at exonerating African National Congress leaders before they have been properly investigated. ”President Mbeki seems wary of [corruption] investigations when they come too close to the Presidency,” Leon said in his weekly online newsletter.

The temporary disappointment of South Africa’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup has not changed the challenges facing South African rugby, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday in his weekly newsletter on the African National Congress website.

South Africa’s moral-regeneration movement is about positive values and not only about fighting corruption, says Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. She said the movement — previously headed by Jacob Zuma — ”was established as a partnership of all of South Africans to promote positive values in our country”.

Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s bid to sequestrate arms-deal critic Terry Crawford-Browne was rejected by a Cape High Court judge on Wednesday. Manuel was seeking to recover almost R1-million in legal fees incurred by the state in fighting a series of court challenges by Crawford-Browne to the multibillion-rand deal.

Surgeon General Vijay Ramlakan confirmed on Friday that Minister of Defence Mosiuoa Lekota had suffered a heart attack on Wednesday. ”He was alone in his official residence in Cape Town when the incident happened. Minister Lekota … was able to summon help from Staff Sergeant Andre Salamat,” he told reporters.

Johan Prinsloo, CEO of the South African Rugby Union, was found not guilty of sexual harassment subsequent to a formal disciplinary hearing held in Cape Town. Prinsloo’s legal representatives stated that although not surprised, they are satisfied with the outcome of the hearing.

The metropolitan area of Cape Town was without power for almost two hours on Friday afternoon, apparently due to a technical problem related to the Koeberg power station. An outage at the Koeberg nuclear power station cut the electricity supply to the Cape Town city centre, an Eskom spokesperson said.

The serving and former MPs facing the music in Travelgate, the parliamentary travel-scam case, on Friday received a provisional indictment that details fraud and alternative theft charges totalling about R24-million. At the same time, a Cape Town magistrate turned up the heat on the Scorpions to finalise their preparation for the case.